THE RED SEA SPEAKS OF LIFE AND DEATH

Part 10

Exo. 14:23-31

Morning Meditation 11/11/16

Verses 23-31 say, “And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.”

We have in the Red Sea experience a marvelous truth set forth. What was life to Israel was death to Pharaoh and his armies. 2 Cor. 2:15-16 says, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” The gospel, that is illustrated (death and resurrection) in Israel’s experience at the Red Sea, is the dividing point of mankind. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Jesus is the Gospel and what He did is illustrated in baptism. Those who believe in Him have everlasting life. Those who do not, remain under the condemnation inherited from Adam. Jesus came into a world bound helplessly in slavery to set the captives free. The world is not condemned because they reject Him, they remain condemned because they refuse to believe in Him. There will be those at the Great White Throne Judgment who never heard of Jesus. Their judgment will be just (Rom. 1:20) even though we may not understand it.

Israel knew what was going on while they were in the grave (Red Sea). There was a wall of water on one side and a wall on the other (vs. 22). They knew that they were celebrating a victory already obtained. The victory over the Red Sea took place in Egypt when the lamb was slain, the blood applied, and the death angel passed over them. They were led by the pillar of cloud (the Holy Spirit) from the APPLIED BLOOD, to test the new life that they had entered. God had established a special relationship with them the night of the passover. Will He protect His family now? Will He be a God unto them and bring them through every difficulty? God led them here to demonstrate His power. This will be a day to remember. It will be the talk of the Jews in private conversation. They will include it in the psalms they sing in public worship. But it was never remembered as a feast. Because it was not at the Red Sea (a type of baptism - 1 Cor. 10:2), where the new relationship between God and Israel began. It was at the Passover. The Red Sea experience was simply a demonstration of the power of God toward His newly redeemed people.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians never learned. God has demonstrated His power over and over again in Egypt. He has turned water into blood, brought flies, frogs and thunderbolts as judgment against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and finally the death of the firstborn of man and beast, and Pharaoh still has not learned. The world, the flesh, and the devil are incorrigible. They never learn. They will not learn even in judgment. Revelation 16:10-11 demonstrates this: “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Cain knew he was wrong when his sacrifice was rejected. It made him mad and he openly defied God. He did this in the fallen state into which he was born because of the sin of Adam. He refused to change Adam’s decision and reject his knowledge for God’s knowledge (this is what repentance is). The result was a curse. And he accepted the curse instead of Christ. And he suffered and died under condemnation. Pharaoh is blind and won’t admit it. He is wrong and he loves it, because he loves darkness rather than light.

“And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.” I’ll use a modern term. Pharaoh “went for it” and lost. His loss was an eternal loss. The Red Sea was salvation to Israel and at the same time death to the Egyptians.. Baptism is an ordinance in the Church for the new believer to confess his faith in the death, burial and resurrection as the means of salvation (Rom.. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). It does not save. It is the blood of Christ that saves. He is our passover (1 Cor. 5:7). Baptism is the celebration of the new life obtained by faith in Jesus, our passover. The unsaved may adopt Christianity as their religion, and be baptized, and skip faith in Christ as the only way of salvation, and when they do, what was celebration of life to us, was the commitment to death to them. Verse 28 says, “And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.” Not one escaped. Exodus 14:7, 9 says, “And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” I have no idea how many Egyptians were involved. It was no doubt in the thousands. God wiped them out in judgment in one telling blow. The waters of the Red Sea closed on them, and God prevented their escape, and not one man survived to tell what happened. Pharaoh and his chosen army left home and never returned. They were forever separated from family and friends. This is the way it will be for the unsaved. Unless one repents and receives Christ as Saviour, he has no hope beyond this life. Not one will escape.

Verse 31 says, “And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.” These people who were blaming Moses for the circumstances, are now awestruck with fear at the power of God. You know the power of God has a way of doing this for you. Have you ever seen God’s power manifested in judgment? It was not against you.. It was against an acquaintance, someone in the community where you live. But you knew what was going on. You knew you deserved what happened to him. But you came out without a scratch. And you realized that it could have been rightfully you. And you feared. Suddenly you had a respect and reverence for God you did not have before? At this point in time, the complainers and the accusers are quieted. It will not be permanent. But as they look upon the dead bodies of Pharaoh and ALL his army, they are stricken with reverential fear. It says, “. . . they believed in the LORD . . .” There are people who will believe in the Lord if He demonstrates His power in some way. But they will not just simply believe in the Lord because of the revelation of His Word. There are those today who are being drawn into churches that are built on emotion and demonstration. When you listen to the preacher’s message, there is no Bible, no explanation of Scripture. Paul told Timothy to “Preach the Word.” That still stands as eternal truth before the throne of God. Beware of the apostasy!

Our text closes with the words, “ . . . believed . . . his servant Moses.” It is amazing that Moses could discipline himself to remain as leader of the Nation of Israel. He was God’s man. Here is a man who survived the public school system, and the secular colleges of the land, and put it all behind him because of his faith in the LORD. God raised this man up out of the sewer pipe of Egypt, and made him a leader over the nation of Israel, and the Jews constantly blamed him for what God was saying. I think Moses enjoyed this MOMENT. I am sorry to have to tell you, it won’t last.. I have a pastor who is God’s man. I have no intentions of ever complaining. I intend, by the grace of God, to back him. I do not want to identify with those who constantly harassed Moses and disbelieved his leadership.. You say, “What if the preacher’s wrong?” HE WILL BE! He is still God’s man. Do you know of one Biblical leader in all the Scripture with the exception of Jesus that did not have faults? We have to love and pray for our leaders in spite of their faults. Just as they have to lead THOSE OF US WHO DESERVED TO DIE IN THE RED SEA WITH PHARAOH, but, escaped only by the grace of God. If you want to criticize your leader, get the person you want to gossip to, both of you stand before the mirror, and look steadfastly at yourselves while you do it!

May God bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White